This invention relates to feeders for livestock. Specifically, this invention relates to livestock feeders for use in feeding various types of fibrous feeds, such as hay. The invention is particularly suited for use as a horse feeder.
Feeders are well known in the art and are especially useful since they provide a method to monitor and regulate the amount of feed supplied and consumed by an animal. This control of the food supply is especially important for horses since they can consume great quantities of food in a short period of time which can result in a life threatening condition known as colic.
However, most prior art feeders do not allow a horse to eat in a natural grazing position. A typical prior art feeder includes a basin with a grille for holding hay, where the grille slopes downward and away from the horse from top to bottom. Because of this configuration, these feeders are usually located three to four feet above the ground so that the horse can access the feed. Unfortunately, this configuration results in the horse eating in an unnatural position with its head up at the grille of the feeder.
Also, these prior art feeders are usually permanently mounted on an inside of the animal""s corral or enclosure. These types of permanently mounted feeders have many drawbacks since they are difficult to clean or relocate because they cannot be easily removed from the enclosure. But even if these feeders were not permanently mounted, they are still difficult to access, relocate and fill with feed since they are located within the animal""s enclosure. This difficulty comes from the need to enter the enclosure to gain full access to the feeder.
The present invention solves the problems of the prior art feeders by providing a feeder that attaches to an outside of an enclosure, is easily removable, and allows a horse to eat at a natural grazing position.
First, the present feeder is unlike any prior art feeder utilizing a grille since it is fastened to the outside of an animal""s corral, enclosure or bin. By placing fastening mechanisms on a front face, the present feeder hangs on the outside of the enclosure with the front face resting on horizontal bars of the enclosure. The animal is able to pull feed through a vertically disposed grille on the front face. With the feeder on the outside of the enclosure, it is easily accessible for cleaning, filling with feed, or relocation.
Second, the present feeder is unlike any prior art feeder since it is easily removed, providing convenience for active horse people. The feeder attaches to the outside of the enclosure by two sets of fastening mechanisms. The first set is located on an upper portion of the front of the feeder and can be hooks or adjustable fasteners such as rounded fasteners that attach to the horizontal bars of the enclosure. Preferably, the first set of fasteners are adjustable rounded fasteners, each held together by a removable pin. This allows the upper portion of the feeder to be securely attached to the enclosure while providing simple removal since each fastener is held together by a single removable pin. Furthermore, since the upper and lower fasteners are adjustable, they can be adjusted to fit varying sizes of corrals and enclosures. In an embodiment, the first set of fasteners are also displaced from the front of the feeder by an elongated member such that the upper portion of the feeder is farther away from the enclosure than a bottom portion of the feeder.
The second set of fasteners attach to horizontal bars of the enclosure below the first set of fasteners. This second set of fasteners can be hooks or rounded fasteners. Preferably, the second set of fasteners are hooks.
By having a configuration of rounded fasteners on the upper portion with hooks located below, the feeder is easily removed by simply taking out the pins of the rounded fasteners and lifting the feeder off of the bars of the enclosure. Preferably all of the fasteners are made of metal or another material having strength and durability. Also, this configuration of fasteners is illustrative and it easily modified while keeping to the spirit of the present invention. For instance, more or less fastening mechanisms or bar attachments of different types placed at different locations may be used while still providing easy removal.
Finally, unlike any prior art feeder that attaches to the outside of an enclosure, the present feeder""s novel design allows a horse to eat at a natural grazing position. By providing feed at a natural grazing position, the feeder prevents gorging, boredom and waste while allowing the horse to feed with its head lower than its heart. This type of feeding approximately doubles the length of eating time as compared to prior art feeders that do not allow the horse to eat in a natural grazing position.
Since horses are made to eat at a grazing position, the present feeder is beneficial to their health, including their digestion and salivation. At a natural grazing position, horses are more inclined to eat at a grazing pace similar to how they would eat while pasture grazing. This type of feeding is slow and constant. Thus, the horse does not gorge or become bored as they tend to do in the prior art feeders that force them to feed with their head above their heart.
With prior art feeders that force the horse to look up at a grille to eat, the horse, in its boredom, tends to pull the feed out of the feeder where it falls to the ground. Then the horse will eat the feed from the ground where they can eat at a natural grazing position. Feeding from the ground, however, results in poor feed utilization and waste while exposing the horse to sand colic and unsanitary conditions.
Therefore, by providing feed at a natural grazing position, the present feeder solves these problems of gorging, boredom, waste and unsanitary eating. The present feeder provides feed at a natural grazing position with a vertically disposed grille on a front face of the feeder where a bottom portion of the grille is located at or near ground level. The grille is made of vertical bars that are spaced apart such that feed can be pulled from in between the bars by a horse. Furthermore, the grille faces inside the enclosure where the feeder is attached outside the enclosure on horizontal bars that comprise the enclosure.
In a preferred embodiment, the feeder has a xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d shape where a front and back of the feeder slope away from each other from bottom to top. This xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d shape provides an opening at a top of the feeder where feed can be easily loaded. In a preferred embodiment, the top of the feeder comprises a lid whereby the top of the feeder can be closed.